Friday, November 12, 2010

Why Finish College if you can Buy Counterfeit Professional License

The image above is a very common tarpaulin Ad by Professional Associations in the Philippines because the government sleeps over its duties to regulate the professional practice.

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The Filipino professional workforce has lost integrity because of laxity of the government in enforcing licensing requirement in professional practice. Counterfeit PRC Cards and Certificates can be easily bought in the sidewalks of Recto and Quiapo near Malacanang. Unlicensed Real Estate Agents in the malls are free to prey on consumers in the open. Unlicensed Dentist Clinics are easy to find, just ask the tricycle driver. The government is not doing its job on maintaining quality control and integrity of the nation's professionals.

Why finish school if you can get a professional license at the sidewalks? You can just use the internet to self-study the trade and craft and you are all set and free to practice the profession without license -- you can even get a business permit from the Mayor's Office for your Real Estate Company or Dentist Clinic or Notary Services without presenting your professional license.

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Consumerism is yet another advocacy that need to be strengthened in the Philippines. In the real estate service sector, I will take the lead. Right now, 95% of real estate agents in the Philippines are unlicensed, they don't follow a code of ethics. These colorum agents seem to be protected, yet I can see that they are being being manipulated by some real estate developers. The result is a disastrous impact on the integrity of the service and on the whole industry. For consumerists, there is big battle ahead us.

In the Philippines, professional licenses and professional board exams are administered by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). Sad to say, counterfeit professional certificates can easily be bought in sidewalk near the PRC and near the Presidential Malacanang Palace. Even if you practice a profession without license right in front of the headquarters of PRC in Manila, they won't mind.

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Professional Human Resources is the ONLY export that could help the Philippines survive and gain competitive advantage in economic globalization. But the Philippine government is doing nothing to protect the integrity of its professionals. If our professionals is contaminated with fakes, we will surely soon lose our advantage.